The US Department of Education has launched an investigation into the admission of transgender students to Smith College, an all-women’s college in Massachusetts.The investigation was announced Monday by the department’s Office for Civil Rights. It will examine whether the college violated Title IX, a 1972 law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education. Title IX allows colleges to be single-sex institutions, but only “based on biological sex differences, not gender identity,” the department said.Smith College, a private liberal arts college founded in 1871, has allowed transgender women to apply since 2015, as have many other women’s colleges in the United States. Its current admissions policy states that “any applicants who self-identify as women; cis, trans, and nonbinary women” are eligible to apply.The investigation comes after a complaint filed with the Office for Civil Rights in June 2025 by the conservative group Defending Education. “DE and its members, among other things, oppose gender-based discrimination in America’s K-12 schools and institutions of higher education,” the group said in a statement.College procedures have been debated for years. In 2013, it drew attention when a transgender high school student was denied admission because her gender identity did not match the details on her financial aid documents. According to the Women’s College Coalition, the number of colleges in the U.S. admitting trans women will drop from 200 to around 30 by 2023.
Trump Targets LGBTQ education.
The move is part of a broader push by the administration of US President Donald Trump, who has taken a tough stance on transgender rights and argued that Title IX should prevent transgender women from participating in women’s venues, including sports.Earlier guidance introduced under the Biden administration to expand protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity was struck down in January 2025 by a federal judge, who ruled the rules had legal problems.Last year, Trump also asked 40 states to remove parts of lessons that focus on LGBTQ+ issues from federally funded sex education materials and warned they would lose funding.
What is Title IX of the US Education Act?
Title IX, enacted as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, is a US federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in any educational program that receives federal funding.It states: “No person in the United States, on the basis of sex, shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” This includes schools, colleges, extra-curricular and training programs.
